Nogales boys basketball coach Sameer Bhatt resigned just a few months after leading the Nobles to their first championship in school history by defeating Ventura’s Foothill Technology 78-65 in the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA championship.

It was the Nobles’ first appearance in a title game in 23 years after a loss to Mater Dei in the 1995 Division 1AA title game.

Bhatt, who spent four seasons at Nogales, penned a letter to his team explaining that he was leaving to pursue other opportunities.

“It was an extremely difficult decision, but necessary for myself to move forward in the next step of my career,” Bhatt wrote. “I can never say thank you enough times to each and every person who has contributed to our accomplishments over the years.”

JOHNNIE LYNN HEADLINES PASADENA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEESIt was night of great fun and nostalgia as the Pasadena Hall of Fame recently inducted the Class of 2018 at the Brookside Golf Club.

Among the headliners for the class were former Muir standout and current defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers Johnnie Lynn. Widely considered one of the top defensive backs ever to play at UCLA, Lynn played seven seasons for the New York Jets.

Also honored was Blair High alum Freddie Crutcher (1980) and Muir alum DeDe Moore. During his time at Blair, Crutcher was an All-CIF Southern Section first-team selection and was the Rio Hondo League player of the year. After graduating from Blair, Crutcher attended USC and is the 10th-leading rusher in the history of the program (2,815 yards).

Moore (1980-82) is widely considered one of the finest all-purpose players to ever play at Muir. He went on to have a stellar career with Washington State and had a short stint with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Other inductees included Olympians George Patton Jr. and dual-sport star Frank Graham. Also honored were basketball coach Bill Duwe, Shawn Holiday (basketball), former football coach Tip Sanders, Debbie Meymarian (basketball/softball), Cherie Nelson (basketball), Chris Bryant (basketball), Ed Parker (Karate) and the Muir Football teams from 1985 and 1986 along with the 1976 and 1977 Pasadena City College football teams.

WALNUT FINISHES SECOND IN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS

It was a big day for the Walnut boys golf team as it finished in second place at the CIF Southern Section Western Division Team Championships at Mountain Meadows Golf Course in Pomona.

On the strength of an outstanding round turned in by junior Alrik Pan, who shot a 6-under 66, the Mustangs put together a team score of 363. Servite took first place with a score of 358.

Also making the divisional finals were Rowland (456), West Covina (464) and Gabrielino (486).

The scene shifts to Rancho San Marcos Golf Course in Santa Barbara for the CIF-SS Individual Championships on Thursday.

MISSION LEAGUE BOYS HOOPS TO HAVE TOURNAMENT

With the change in the CIF-SS season calendar in 2018, the Mission League boys basketball coaches have decided to change the format for league play.

Rather than play each other twice, with games starting in late December, the league with play each other one time with the top four teams gathering for a league championship on the final week of the season. The winner of the tournament, which will be held at Alemany, will be considered the league’s top seed entering the playoffs.

The other three teams at the bottom of the standings will play in a round-robin consolation tournament.

“This gives us the freedom to travel and play in three tournaments,” St. Francis coach Todd Wolfson said. “It also allows us to play in more nonleague games. It also doesn’t allow us to beat up on one another twice per year and make it difficult for us to have .500 records and it broke down some teams when they could have made a playoff run.”

Ochoa was the catalyst for the rise of Northview becoming one of the top programs in the state. A graduate of Workman, where he was a state qualifier, Ochoa has coached 71 CIF-SS champions, 24 Masters champions and three state champions. In addition, he has coached seven girls state champions.

Vorobieff turned Arroyo into one of the top wrestling programs in the San Gabriel Valley and coached numerous CIF-SS champions in his three decades. His dual-meet matches against longtime rival Rosemead coach Louie Madrigal are still remembered today.